Means for disassembling cigarette and filter assemblies



y 4, 1968 J. R. PINKHAM 3,382,874

MEANS FOR DISASSEMBLING CIGARETTE AND FILTER ASSEMBLIES Filed June 4, 1965 MIL INVENTOR.

$5555 A? P/NKH/ZM BY w mwm ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,382,874 MEANS FOR DISASSEMBLING CIGARETTE AND FELTER ASSEMBLIES Jesse R. Pinkharn, Winston-Salem, N.., assignor to R. J.

Reynolds Tobacco Company, Winston-Salem, N.C., a

corporation of New Jersey Filed June 4, 1965, Ser. No. 461,477 Claims. (Cl. 131-20) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A disassembling and segregating means for severing each of two cigarette sections from an intermediate double filter section, upon free fall receipt from an overhead transporting means which releases the assemblies at a station immediately over the disassembling and segregation apparatus, the exact point of release and free fall tending to vary slightly from assembly to assembly, characterized by a pair of spaced generally parallel rotatable circular knives for severing the assemblies just outside the ends of the filter section, and rotatable ledger means for driving the assemblies to and through the knives, the ledger means including a plurality of arms around the periphery thereof, each arm having a leading face which is essentially radial, and a generally planar trailing face which intersects both the leading face of that arm and the next arm, thereby forming a generally planar surface for the reception of assemblies between the leading faces of succeeding arms, the ledger means further including a pair of annular discontinuities in the periphery thereof for reception of the cutting edges of the pair of knives.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In an intermediate stage during the manufacture of filter tipped cigarettes, it is common practice to assemble in alignment two cigarettes of desired length and a double length section of filter material located between the two cigarettes. The ends of the two cigarettes are brought into abutting relationship with the filter section. A band of sealing material is then placed around the section of filter material with its edges overlapping the ends of the cigarettes. These overlapping edges are bonded to the cigarettes, thereby forming a double-unit consisting of two cigarette tobacco rods with a double length filter section between them. Ultimately these double-units are cut transversely at their center, resulting in the formation of two individual filter tipped cigarettes from each doubleunit.

The individual filter tipped cigarettes are then automatically collected and stored in large transport trays for ultimate transfer to packaging machinery. Use of such automatic tray-filling machines has been economical, since it eliminates much hand labor, but the manual inspection function previously performed at the same time has thereby been lost. Automatic inspection devices have been developed to overcome this aspect of the use of automatic tray-filling machines. There is shown in US. Patent 2,951,364, issued Sept. 6, 1960, to J. H. Sherrill, an automatic inspection device for testing the double-unit filter cigarettes by subjecting them to an internal air pressure different from the external pressure, to test for holes or leaks in the cigarette paper or filter. Double-units that fail the test are rejected, and those that pass the test are allowed to travel onward to the aforesaid transverse cutting operation.

The tobacco contained within rejected cigarettes is quite valuable, and must be salvaged. The filters have a lesser but still a significant salvage value. In order to have value, the salvaged tobacco must not be contaminated with fibers from the filter. In cigarette machinery 3,382,874 Patented May 14, 1968 employed before the advent of the automatic inspection devices described above, the cigarettes were inspected visually. Unsatisfactory cigarettes were manually removed and placed by the inspector in trays for transfer to salvage operations. In so doing, the inspector would orient the cigarettes in the tray for economical salvage, segregating any bits and pieces. With the automatic inspection devices described above, the rejected cigarettes are unoriented and either in double length form, or in bits and pieces, and no inspector is normally present to segregate the bits and pieces and to orient the double length cigarettes. Salvage of material rejected by automatic inspection equipment by use of prior art salvage equipment is thus very unsatisfactory.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus adapted continuously to disassemble doubleunit cigarette and filter assemblies and to segregate the cigarette sections from the filter sections.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus wherein tobacco values may be reclaimed in substantially pure form and without the incorporation therein of filter material.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus wherein rejected double-unit cigarette and filter assemblies are subjected to a cutting and segregating operation during the rejection phase so as to facilitate the separate reclamation of tobacco values and filter values.

Another object of the present invention is to provide means for rapidly reclaiming cigarette values from cigarettes rejected during high speed cigarette manufacture operations.

These and further objects and advantags of the invention will be more fully appreciated as the description of apparatus according to the invention proceeds.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an end view of disassembling and segregating means according to the invention arranged for cooperation with a cigarette and filter assembly transport means;

FIG. 2 is a partial elevation view of the disassembling and segregating apparatus according to the invention and the transport means taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the disassembling and segregating means according to the invention taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view showing an alternative form of certain of the elements shown in FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawing, there is shown transport means 21, which in the illustrated embodiment takes the form of a drum assembly. These means 21 may be employed with, but do not form a part of, the present invention. The drum assembly 21 is adapted to receive a series of cigarette and filter assemblies 20 from conveyor 22a indicated in simplified outline in phantom detail in FIG. 1. The assemblies 20, after deposition upon drum assembly 21 from conveyor 22a, are thereafter transported or carried on the outer circumference of the revolving portion of drum assembly 21 to a point where selected ones thereof are transferred to the disassembling means. Those assemblies 20 that are not disassembled according to the invention continue on the drum assembly 21 until they are delivered to conveyor 22b for further processing, e.g. for packaging. The construction of drum assembly 21 is shown in greater detail in the copending application of Pinkham, McArthur, and Speas, Ser. No. 461,291, filed June 4, 1965, and assigned to a common assignee with the present invention. It is to be understood that conveyors 22a and 22b may take any form capable of carrying and transporting assemblies 20, and are not restricted to belttype conveyors. In the aforesaid copending application drum-type conveyors are illustrated.

According to the present invention the cigarette and filter assemblies 20 will have been individually tested for quality on drum assembly 21 or before reaching drum assembly 21. However, while the disassembling apparatus of the present invention is useful in disassembling cigarette and filter assemblies which have been previously tested and found defective as aforesaid, the invention is not restricted thereto. Rather the invention finds application whenever selected ones of a series of cirgarette and filter assemblies 20 are to be cut in a manner to separate the center filter section 26a from the cigarette sections 20!) and 20c.

The drum assembly 21 comprises a fixed head 23 which serves to mount the entire drum assembly 21 to the general framework (not shown) of the cigarette processing equipment with which it is employed. Journalled within head 23 is a rotatable drum 24 which extends at one end through annular fixed drum portion 23 as a reduced diameter rotatable drum portion 24a, which includes intermediate stepped surfaces 24c, 24], and 24d, and which is terminated at its opposite end by flange 24b. Rotatable drum 24 is connected to drive means (not shown) for rotation in the direction indicated in FIG. 1. Preferably the drive means for conveyor belts 22a and 22b are either the same as, or are synchronized with the drive means for drum assembly 21 and for the disassembly means to be described hereinafter. The surface 24d of rotatable drum 24- bounded by face 240 and by flange 24b thereof constitutes a nesting surface for the cradling and transport of cigarette and filter assemblies 20.

Rotatable drum 24 carries a plurality of longitudinal rows of cradling means 24, said rows being arranged around the circumference of rotatable drum 24 upon the surface 24d. Each cradling means 25 is shown in the form of a semi-circular flute adapted to cradle a portion of the cylindrical surface of an assembly 20. The central pair of cradling means in a row may be connected to form an elongated cradling means, or they may be separated, as shown in the drawing at 25a. The central cradling means 25a is adapted to receive the cylindrical surface of substantially the entire filter section 2011 of a cigarette and filter assembly 20.

Each cradling means 25 communicates with internal passageways, a portion of one of which is shown in phantom outline at 26a in FIG. 1. Each passageway 26a terminates at a cradling means 25 at a central position underlying any cigarette and filter assembly cradled thereby, to form an orifice 26, an example one of which is shown in FIG. 1. Every cradling means 25 includes at least one such orifice 26. Central elongated cradling means 25a has a pair of these orifices 26. The orifices 26 in each row, i.e. the orifices 26 associated with a row of cradling means 25 and 25a for cradling a single cigarette and filter assembly 20, have their respective internal passageways 26a connected in common so as to be valved as a group to either a positive source of air pressure or a source of air vacuum. Thus each cigarette and filter assembly 20 may be subjected either to positive air pressure at orifices 26 of the cradling means 25 and 25a in which it is nested, or it may be subjected at those same orifices to an air vacuum. Each such assembly 20 is thus individually subjected at its associated orifices 26 to pressure tending to eject it from the cradling means 25, 25a, 01' to vacuum tending to retain it.

Suitable valving means shown in the aforesaid copending application are provided such that each row of cradling means 25, 2511, may be individually valved between air pressure and air vacuum as aforesaid, in response to a selecting command which may for example indicate that a certain assembly 20 is defective and thus suitable for disassembly. When this command to the valving means reflects such a quality control decision, there will be a delay during which the assembly 20 will travel from the point at which the quality control decision is made to the point at which the ejecion will occur.

The delay can be in the valving itself, or it can be by mechanical restraint, but in any case ejection must be effected at a predetermined position in the rotation of drum 24. In the aforesaid copending application, a guide bar is shown which constitutes an example of a delay by mechanical restraint. There the assembly 20 is restrained against the positive air pressure jets impinging thereon from orifices 26, until the circumferential point is reached where the guide bar ends, and at that point ejection is effected. While the transport means 21 forms a preferred source of assemblies 20 for the disassembling and segregating means constituting the present invention, any other source of assemblies 20 may be substituted.

The disassembling and segregating means forming the present invention will now be described in connection with the example transport means 21 described above. As is shown in FIGS. 1 through 3, the disassembling and segregating means comprises, in general, a driven pair of circular knives 53 and 54, and driven star-wheel means 44 which cooperate with the knives 53, 54, to disassemble the assemblies 20. The preferred construction of star- Wheel means 44 is such that it performs a variety of functions in the disassembling process. Thus, star-wheel means 44 cooperates with knives 53, 54, to receive assemblies 20 descending from transport means 21, then acts as an inclined plane of progressive inclination so as to settle each assembly 20 against knives 53, 54, then acts to positively drive each assembly 20 into knives 53, 54, and then finally during the severing operation itself, acts as a ledger for the action of knives 53, 54, upon each assembly 20 in response to the aforesaid positive driving action.

A U-shaped bracket member 42 is secured to general framework 41 by fastening means 41a, 41b, 41c. Bracket 42 includes a spaced pair of arms 42a and 42b. A knife shaft is journalled at one end in bracket arm 42a, and passes through bracket arm 42b at the other end thereof. Shaft 60 is thus carried for rotation within bracket arms 42a, 42b. The end 60a of shaft 60 protrudes beyond bracket arm 42b, and is terminated by pulley 61. Motive means 45, which is illustrated as an electric motor, is mounted on frame 41, and carries a pulley 45a. A belt connects pulleys 45a and 61, so that motive means 45 drives knife shaft 60. Knives 53, 54, are mounted on either side of the mid-point of knife shaft 60, the exact placing axially on shaft 60 being such as to cooperate with a transport means 21 to receive an assembly 20 with the filter section 20a extending between knives 53, 54. The knives sever the assembly 20 just outside the ends of the filter section 20a.

A star-wheel drive shaft is carried by and journalled in bracket arms 42a, 42b. Shaft 70 is spaced laterally from shaft 60, so that the plurality of star-wheels 44 carried thereby is positioned for cooperation with knives 53, 54, as hereinafter described. In the illustrated embodiment, four symmetrically placed star-wheels 44 are employed. More or less than four star-wheels, of the same or different spacing, could alternatively be employed. It is preferred that two star-wheels :be meshed with knives 53, 54, as illustrated, thus employing the star-wheels as a moving ledger for the knives, so that the very clean severing action possible with that arrangement may be obtained. The other already described actions of star-wheels 44 would however be present even without this meshing relationship with knives 53, 54, and this would still constitute an advance in the art.

Near one end of shaft 70 is mounted a wheel 71. Preferably wheel 71 is rubber-tired or otherwise made resilient at the periphery thereof. As is best shown in FIG. 2, wheel 71 rides on stepped surface 24] of transport means 21, thus driving shaft 71 directly from transport means 21. In FIG. 4 is shown an alternative to the use of rubber wheel 71. The stepped surface 24] includes peripheral gear teeth 24g which mesh with and drive gear 72 on shaft 70. An advantage of this form is that the drive is positive, and thus synchronization of starwheels 44 with drum 24 is possible. Motive means 45 is kept running when transport means 21 (and thereby star-wheels 44) is stopped, or at least is started up before the transport means is started, thereby to prevent jammmg.

Each star-wheel 44 includes six points 44a, which are formed to have radial leading faces 44b, and trailing faces 440 that are perpendicular to a radius of the star-wheel, the points 44a including approximately a 60 angle between intersecting faces 441) and 44c. It is to be understood that more or less points may be employed, and that the orientation of faces 44b and 440 may be varied from that described above. All star-wheels 44 are aligned with one another so that their respective points are in phase.

In the preferred, illustrated form of star-wheel 44, the leading face 44b meets its mating knife 53 or 54 on a downward stroke, which drives any assembly 20 into the knife, then down the knife, then back out from the knife. This sequence is represented by the two leading faces 44b involved with the knife 54 in FIG. 1. The trailing faces 440 are approximately horizontal when first introduced to the knife 53 or 54 mated therewith. Further turning of star-wheel 44 gives a progressive inclination to trailing face 44c As soon as a leading face begins to engage the knife 53 or 54 associated therewith, the trailing face 446 immediately following it begins inclination forward, thus forming a wedge-shaped opening with the knife 53 or 54 associated therewith. This opening acts to cradle any assembly 20 ejected or dropped or placed therein, until the next leading face 44b comes around and pushes it into, through, and out of, the knife. The faces 44b, 44c, may contain concave portions if desired, and, as aforesaid, the angular relationship of the faces may be varied from the illustrated form, the essential being that the leading faces 44b push the assemblies 20 through knives 53, 54 and that the trailing faces 44c receive the assemblies 20 and incline to position them against the knives 53, 54, for the pushing action.

As is best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each star-wheel 44 includes a groove 44d in the radial periphery thereof. The purpose of groove 44d is to accommodate one of knives 53, 54, so that the aforesaid ledger action, resulting in an exceptionally clean cut, is achieved. When this ledger action is desired, a star-wheel 44 will be meshed with each of knives 53, 54, i.e., a portion of the rim of each knife will occupy a portion of the groove 44d of the opposed star-wheel 44. In the illustrated four star-wheel embodiment, the outermost star wheels 44 also include grooves 44d. This is merely a convenience for parts interchangeability.

The ends of bracket arms 42a, 42b, are joined by a comb bracket 80, which includes a plurality of teeth 81. Each tooth 81 rides in a groove 44d, in order to clean out any material that might otherwise accumulate there. Knives 53, 54, are thus always riding in clean grooves 44d, and clean cutting of assemblies 20 is fostered. Attached to frame 41, betweenknives 53, 54, is a fingerbracket 90 which extends out to and around shaft 60 between knives 53, 54. Any filter sections 20 that stick between blades 53, 54 after severing, will be dislodged by hitting the underside of finger-bracket 90, and will drop downward in the fashion of sections 20 that do not so stick.

In operation, any rejected assembly 20 is ejected by orifices 26 into the wedge between star-wheels 44 and knives 53, 54. The assembly 20 is ejected approximately at the six oclock position shown in FIG. 1. The point of ejection will of course vary with the characteristics of the specific transport means 21 employed, e.g. the pressure of the air jets, the rotation speed of the drum, the spacing, etc. An ejected assembly (or an assembly 20 placed, by any other means, into star-wheels 44) will be cradled against knives 53, 54, by the action of inclining trailing face 440, and will then be pushed through and out of knives 53, 54, by the next leading face 44b. It has been found that it is not necessary to synchronize closely the star-wheels 44 with the transport means 21. However, synchronization is afforded when gear 72 is employed, as aforesaid, to drive shaft 70 from teeth 24g on drum portion 24 or a ring gear encircling portion 24 on drum assembly 21.

Each assembly 20 is severed just outside the ends of filter section 20, and the filter section 20a is released (or dislodged 'by finger-bracket from between blades 53, 54, with the cigarette sections 20b and 20c being released on either side thereof, all as illustrated in FIG. 2. Since the lateral point of release is the same for like sections of every assembly 20, the like sections are segregated from the other sections, e.g. the sections 20b are always released at the point illustrated. This locationsegregation may be aided by chutes such as those illustrated in the aforesaid copending application. The receiver means shown there, which may be chutes, bins, or other means, merely take advantage of, or elaborate on, the segregation that is already effected by the operation of the device according to the invention. Such chutes, bins, or the like (generally designated as receiver means) may be employed to receive the sections 20a, 20b, 20c, segregated by the action of knives 53, 54, of the present invention. The embodiment shown herein is illustrative, not limiting. In addition to the variations suggested herein, numerous other modifications may be made without departing from the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In apparatus for transporting double cigarette and filter assemblies each consisting of two cigarette sections, oneat each end of the assembly and a double length filter section between them, and including means for ejecting selected assemblies downwardly in free fall at an ejection station, the improvement, in combination therewith, for catching the free falling assemblies and disassembling and segregating the cigarette sections and the filter sections comprising, a pair of spaced generally parallel kmves for severing said assemblies just outside the ends of the filter section; and rotatable ledger means for driv- 1ng said assemblies to and through said knives, said ledger means including a plurality of arms around the periphery thereof, each arm having a generally planar trailing face for receiving and inclining an assembly into contact with said kmves, and a leading face for driving an assembly to, through, and out of severing relationship with said knives, said ledger means further including a pair of annular discontinuities in the periphery thereof for the reception of the cutting edges of said pair of knives.

2. In apparatus for transporting and testing double cigarette and filter assemblies each consisting of two cigarette sections, one at each end of the assembly and a double length filter section between them, and including means for ejecting selected assemblies downwardly in free fall at an ejection staion, the improvement, in combination therewith, for catching the free falling assemblies and disassembling and segregating the cigarette sections and the filter sections comprising, a pair of spaced generally parallel knives for severing said assemblies just outside the ends of the filter section; and rotatable ledger means for driving said assemblies to and through said knives, said ledger means including a plurality of arms around the periphery thereof, each arm having a leading face which is essentially radial, and a generally planar trailing face which intersects both the leading face of that arm and the next arm, thereby forming a generally planar surface for the reception of assemblies between the leading faces of succeeding arms, said ledger means further including a pair of annular discontinuities in the periphery thereof for the reception of the cutting edges of said pair of knives.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said trailing face of any arm intersects the leading face of that arm at an acute angle, and intersects the leading face of the succeeding arm at approximately a right angle.

4. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein each of said pair of knives is generally circular and driven, and said knives and said ledger mesh at said discontinuities to a sufficient :depth so that the trailing face of each arm is essentially horizontal when the leading face of that arm is just beginning to mesh with said knives.

5. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said ledger means is divided into two separate portions, each including one of said annular discontinuities and being meshed with one of said knives.

6. Apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising receiver means for severed filter sections; and receiver means for severed cigarette sections.

7. Apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising, means interposed between said knives on the side opposite said rotatable means, for dislodging severed filter sections.

tance which is a multiple of the diameter of said assemblies.

10. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein six of said arms are included on said rotatable ledger.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,407,439 2/ 1922 Pinkney 83411 3,067,644 12/1962 Dearsley. 3,233,613 2/1966 Kor ber et al. 13196 X ANDREW R. JUHASZ, Primary Examiner. 

